Guess who started their job!

So, yay for a good week! This week has been awesome! On Sunday evening we were able to meet up with Meagan from Olivet (Jackson) for dinner at Chuy's! We had such a great time catching up. After seeing Meagan, I realized just how much I miss my Olivet nursing ladies. We really hope you all are doing great!

On Monday, I finally got to begin working! It is so great! I really think I am going to L-O-V-E the Heart Hospital! The woman who is training me is actually the woman who interviewed me, and I was really hoping to get the chance to work with her. She is so knowledgable and patient all at the same time. Monday I was in class with 8 other people, so I was pretty excited to get to know them all. But, someone had other plans as I am the ONLY nurse who is orienting this month. Therefore, I have been by myself for the past two days. I actually have really enjoyed this, because I think I'm absorbing things that I might not have if there had been more people in the class! Today I had to take three different tests...AH...and all 3 went well which was so exciting! Also exciting, Brad has been working days this week, so it has been so fun for us to feel like this is all so real now! Can I just say it is great?

Today, around 3:30pm Elizabeth (nurse educator) and I went down to the CCU to go over the PCA pumps. While we were there, the team leader of the CCU, my boss-to-be in 6 months, decided Elizabeth should do my orienting on the unit tomorrow because they are short a nurse, and because I will be working there in six months. YEA!!! Who's pumped? This girl! I was not supposed to be on the floor until Monday, and even then not in the unit until March/Aprilish. This is so exciting! I am hoping to prove myself, and maybe see about getting into the CCU sooner, but either way, I think I am going to love this hospital!

For those of you who don't know, I interviewed to be a nurse in the CCU, but the team leader at the time decided she wanted me to have a couple of months of experience before I was thrown into the unit and all the intensity. To make up for this, she hired me into the PCU (basic telemetry) for 6 months to get my bearings, and then I will be re-evaluated to see if I am ready to move on. What was scary about this, when I arrived at the hospital in October, the team leader who had hired me, and was one of my main reasons for choosing this job, has left the hospital. Whoa. However, the Lord is so good! I met both the PCU and CCU team leaders yesterday, and they both seem wonderful! I think things are going to work out perfectly!

Tonight, I got home and decided to do a fashion show for Brad, a bit like I used to do for Dad when I was little and made him look at all the new clothes we got for school! :) Brad went and worked out after, and I felt we should get some pictures of him in all his perspiring glory! So here we are...
My name is Brad, I'm tough!
Hi, I'm Rachael! I'll be your NURSE today!So excited about my name tag, and the fact that I don't have hair chopped to my ears in this picture!
P.S. The first day of orientation I was so nervous I only put one earring in, and didn't notice this until AFTER my ID picture was taken. Hahahaha. Heart Hospital of Austin! Yay!This is one FANTASTIC husband!So, one last shot...flashback to Maui. How we miss that beautiful place! Soon, I hope to have some beautiful pictures of Indiana in the fall!

One last thing, we could use some prayer over the next weeks as we figure out our schedules. Brad will be working 11pm-8am for the next two weeks while I will be on days. After this, he will be on nights, as I continue to be on days for 6 more weeks. If you could just pray that we will be able to make the most of our time together and that we would remember this weird schedule won't last forever! Thanks all! God is good! His blessings are amazing! Thank you for being a part of us! Hasta!